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Boys take tourney with bookend wins

Turnabout was more than fair play for the Falcon boys last Saturday. It was thrashing-good play.

Sparked by Tim Gabelein's two three-point shots in the first and fourth quarters, the South Whidbey boys did a role reversal at the expense of Chimacum in a 67-50 victory to grab the championship trophy at their own Falcon Classic tournament.

The margin of victory was the largest of the season for the 3-6 Falcons. Turning their first meeting of the year with Chimacum on its head, the South Whidbey boys outscored their guests 17-2 in a first quarter that was a mirror image of the 15-2 first-period drubbing the Falcons suffered in a Dec. 4 game against the same team. Double-digit scoring blitzes from Gabelein and junior Josh Coleman kept the game out of Chimacum's reach for much of the night, as did several priceless late-game plays.

With Chimacum threatening a comeback in the third quarter, senior guard Trevor Ellis stole the ball then ran the floor for an easy lay-in to break Chimacum's momentum. Then, when the visitors seemed to have gathered their gumption again in the fourth quarter, Gabelein struck the death blow when his three-pointer took South Whidbey's advantage from four points to seven.

Falcon Coach Andy Davis said less-flashy moments provided the bedrock for the win. Coleman's six points in the first quarter and eight rebounds for the game helped keep Chimacum out of the contest, Davis said, as did Gabelein's 10-for-12 performance on the free throw line.

It was a game of fundamentals, he said.

"We're improving for sure."

With one conference win to their credit and slightly more than half their schedule remaining, the Falcons will need to do a good deal of winning if they want to make it to district playoffs. They start back into their regular game schedule with a home game Tuesday against Mount Baker.

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